Breaking-out tongs.



G. S. WRIGHT. BREAKING-OUT Toms, APPLICATION FILED NOV. 7,1913.

1 1 1 4,663. Patented Oct. 20, 1911 1 1 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

ITNESSIES 0', S. WRIGHT.

BREAKING-OUT TONGS. APPLICATION FILED, NOV. 7,1913.

Patented Oct: 20, 1914.

2 SHEETS8HEET 2.

VVITN ESSES CLYDE S. WRIGHT, OI? TGLEDO, OHIO, ASSIGNOR "5K3 THE NATIONAL SUPP Y COTlIPir 0F TOLEDO, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF 02-110.

BREAKING-OUT TONGS.

Lllit tlti-fl.

Serial No. 795/31 To all 701 107)? it may concern.

Be it known that I, CLYDE S. W'RIGHT, a citizen of the United States, residing at T0- ledo, in the county Ohio, have invented new and useful In proveincnts in Breaking-Out Tongs, of which the following is a specification.

ilcl y invention relates to what a known as breakingwut tongs. that is, tongs tor brealc ing or unscrewing the joints of pipes or casings as they are drawn. from a well.

The joints or couplings between the ends of pipes are set up very tight and the weight to he turned is very great. The lower end of the coupling to be unscrewed rests on an elevator or other support and the whole line of pipes in the 'Ull are suspend ed on the said coupling. The tongs not only have to overcome the "force by which the joint is held together, but they have also to rotate the suspended pipes which may weigh several tons and to overcome the friction between the coupling and the elevator or equivalent support. In the per'lorinance of the work of unscrewing the-couplings, the tongs become stuck very tight and are very hard to get oil. It is the object of my invention to provide easily operated means for releasing thetongs from couplings or pipes.

l-lct'crring to the acconumnying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of an apparatus e1nbodying my invention, parts being broken away; Fig. 2. a'plan -view of the same, showing: the parts as they are when unscrewing a coupling; Fig. 3, a similar view, showlug;- one of the tones released and ready for removal; Fig. 4-, a. similar view showing the tongs removed l'roin the coupling, or ready to be applied tlicrctp; and Fig. 5, a section on the line V--V, Fig. 2-.

(in the drawings, 1 represents a rotary horizontal table driven by the shaft 2 by means oi the intermediate bevel-gearing 3. This table is located over a well so that the pipe l maybe raised or lowered through the same in a manner well known. The pipe 4. is composed oi many sections connected end to end hy pipe-couplings or joints. I have shown two sections of the pipe 41- connected by a pin and box coupling, the pin end or section being marked 5., and the box end or section being marked (3. The coupling section has the tampered thread end or pin '1" of Lucas and State 01 I screwed into the corresponding tapered hollow or box in the upper end oi the section 6.- lhe sections -l are screwed re-spe, vely into the upper end of the pin section :1 and the lower end of the box-section 6. The loi'ver end of the coupling rests on the usual elevator 7 which rests upon the top of the table and supports all the. sections of pipe connectcd to the coupling seated the-neon Sllfi ing two of the links by which the pipe is raised or lowered. The weight of the pipe sections and couplings may be several and the friction between the coupling and the elevator 7 may be very great. Furthen more, he force rw uired to unscrew the tions 5 and 6 is very considerable. Accordingly, the rotary table 1S utilized as a source of power for actuating the tongs.

9 re 'iresents the handle of the upper pipe tongs A carrying the ii'voted outer jaw 10, suspended by the bolt or link ll. on any convenient support. The handle Dis prevented from moving from left to right by the post l1! or other means, such as a. cable or chain to attached to the handle and a fixed support. 'lhe jaws of the upper tongs engage the section 5 of'the coupling, and are r plied so as to resist the turning of the said section. from left to right.

14 re1i resents the'han'tlle of the lower pipe tongs ll, carrying the pivoted outer jaw 15. The jaws of the tongs are applied to the section 5 of the coupling so to rot-ate the same and the sections of the pipe at below the elevator from left to right.

.16 is the vertical driving post carried by the table. The hub or sleeve 17 oscillates on the post 16 andis provided with the hori zontal lugs or cars 18, between which one end of the toggle link 19 is connected by the pivot 20. The other end of the link 19 has the pair of cars 21 between which the outer end of" the handle lei is connected by the pivot The lower end of the sleeve 17 has the extension 23 to which the handle 2% is secured by oneor more set screws 2b is a collar on the post 16 below the sleeve and handle to hold them and the tongs at the desired level. The collar is secured to the post by one or more set screws 2?.

The link 19 extends out beyond the sle'x i 17, the end thereof connected to t. being curved or hooked back towai tcr of the table so that the pivot i the said line, that is, slightly past the dead center of the pivot with respect to the post 16, as shown on Fig. 2.

With the parts as shown on Figs. 1 and 2 and the "table 1 rotating with the arrow thereon, the tongs B will cause the section 6 with all the pipe suspended thereon to be.

turned from left to right, thereby unscrewing the section G'i'rom the section 5. When the sections 5 and 6 are unscrewed, the lever 24 is swung out away from the center of the table as shown in Fig. 3 which permits the tongs B to be readily and easily released from the section 6. In fact, the throwing of the lever back to the position shown on Fig. 3 causes the link19 to push the handle 14 back, so as to move the handle jaw or the pivoted jaw or both away from the coupling. The tongs B can then be swung to the right, that is, away from the coupling asshown on Fig. 4;, ready to be swung back when another coupling has been brought up by the elevator 7 above the top of the table 1.

I have shown the wrenches applied to two sections of a coupling, but it is clear that .where the coupling is made of only one piece one of the tongs may engage the coupling and the other the section of pipe screwed into the upper end or" the same. It is also evident that, by turning the tongs A and B bottom side up and placing the handle 9 on the opposite side of the post 12, the sections 5 and 6 could be screwed together by reversing the rotation of the table.

It will be observed from Fig. 2 that when the toggle links 18 and 19 are in locking 'position, that is, with the pivot 20 in the dead center position with respect to the pivots 16 and 22, the links 18 are prevented from swinging too far toward the center of the table, by engagement of the link 19 with the sleeve 17.

I claim 1. In an apparatus for turning one threaded inember with respect to a companion threaded member, means i or preventing the turning of one member, tongs for turning the other member, means having rotary travel around the members, a toggle mechanism connecting ,the tongs and the rotary means, and means for operating the toggle mechanism.

2. In an apparatus for turning one threaded member with respect to a companion threaded member, means for preventing the turning of one member, tongs having an operating lever for turning the other member, a device having rotary travel around the members, a driving post on the rotary device, toggle links connected between the lever and the post, and means for operating the links.

3. In an apparatus for turning one threaded member with respect to a companion threaded member, means for preventing the turning of one member, tongs for turning the other member, a pair of toggle links having one end of each pivotally connected together, the remaining end of one link be- CLYDE S. WRIGHT.

Witnesses M. N. TABER, "W. H. "WOLFGANG. 

